Gritty, Gutsy Jags Win

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- This was the moment of truth for the Jaguars.

Trailing the New York Jets 22-21 with 5:04 left, they took over on their 17, needing a long drive and at least a field goal to keep them in playoff contention.

They answered the call and beat the Jets 24-22 on Josh Scobee's 21-yard field goal on the final play of the game. The Jaguars (5-4) moved above .500 for the first time this season and put themselves in the middle of the wild-card chase.

The offense drove the ball 80 yards to the Jets' 1-yard line, where Maurice Jones-Drew deliberately fell down so the Jaguars could run time off the clock before Scobee kicked the game-winner.

"What a great football game," said Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio. "A real gritty, determined effort. Both teams came into this ballgame realizing that it was a big game."

So big that quarterback David Garrard didn't have to say much when he entered the huddle to start the final drive.

"You could tell the guys were focused and ready to roll," he said. "I did say, 'This is it. This is what they all come down to. Do your job and make plays.'

"I didn't have to come up with any rah-rah speeches. It was all or nothing."

Up to that point, the offense, which gained 250 yards and 14 first downs while taking a 21-13 halftime lead, hadn't made a first down in the second half.

But Garrard, calling the plays sent in by offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, was a maestro in the last drive.

He hit rookie Zach Miller with an 11-yard pass on third down, rookie Mike Thomas 15 yards on another third down, and then threw to Marcedes Lewis down the seam for a 33-yard gain to put the Jaguars in field-goal range.

Miller and Thomas were the first reads and Lewis the second after Garrard saw that Mike Sims-Walker was covered by Darrelle Revis on the slant. The Jets switched Revis to Sims-Walker in the second half after he caught a slant for a 26-yard touchdown in the first half against Dwight Lowery.

"We didn't draw up any plans in the dirt," Garrard said of the last drive.

The pass to Lewis put the Jaguars at the New York 14 with two minutes left and the Jets were willing to concede the touchdown to get the ball back. But Jones-Drew foiled that plan by falling down at the 1.

Garrard then knelt down three times before Scobee kicked the game-winner.

"I've never been in that situation," Garrard said. "It was a little weird because we were in the victory formation and we didn't have the victory yet.

"As long as we didn't screw up anything with snap [on the field goal], we were going to be fine."